The early game between the Stars & IceDogs ended in a 4-4 tie.
The IceDogs got off to a good start by scoring two quick goals in the first shift of the game. After this, things settled down for a while. The Stars scored one goal in the second period to make the score 2-1 going into the third.
The Stars scored another goal early in the third to tie it up, but the IceDogs got two more quick goals half-way through the third to re-gain a two goal cushion.
The Stars kept the pressure on and scored with 2:33 remaining in the third to bring it back to within one goal. After pulling the goalie for the extra attacker, the Stars tied it up when Chris Helps scored with just nine seconds to go in the third.
Overtime solved nothing, so the teams settled for a 4-4 tie.
Brandon Wilpstra is the Player of the Game. He scored a goal and had three assists for the Stars.

The middle game saw the Flyers beat the Cattle Barons 5-4 in overtime.
This was an even game all the way through. Both teams scored a goal in the first period, and then did the same in the second to enter third period 2-2.
In the third it was more of the same story with both teams scoring two goals each.
Sid Karelsen got the game winner in overtime for the Flyers.
Darryl Poort is the Player of the Game in this one. He scored two goals for the Flyers and added an assist.

Even though the Hawks are the top team in the standings, the Omegas seem to have their number. The Hawks have only lost twice this season, but both times have been to the Omegas. This time the Omegas beat them 5-2 in the late game.
It was a fairly quiet game through the first two periods. The Omegas scored one in the first period, and another one in the second.
The Hawks got on the scoreboard for the first time early in the third period. A few minutes later, the Omegas re-gained their two goal lead with another goal.
The Hawks countered with one more goal a few minutes after that, but the Omegas scored two more before the period was over.
We'll give the nod for the Player of the Game to Zach VanReenen, of the Omegas. He scored a goal and added two assists.

Brandon Wilpstra, of the Stars, was ejected from the early game against the Hawks for receiving three minor penalties. This is the first time that this has occurred for Brandon this season, so he is okay to play in the next game.

The Hawks were able to halt the winning streak of the Stars by beating them 4-2 in the early game.
The Hawks got on the scoreboard first when Pat Dam took a perfect pass right on the tape from Terry Moesker (what?) & blew it past the goalie. This was the only goal in the first. The Stars came back in the second period and the teams were tied 2-2 going into the third period.
The Hawks scored two more in the third and held on to win it.
We'll give the Player of the Game to Ryan Tamming who had two assists for the Hawks and played a great game defensively as well.

The Omegas made up for their 7-3 loss in Week 8 with a 7-3 victory of their own in the middle game against the Cattle Barons.
The Omegas got off to a good start and found themselves up 4-0 before the Cattle Barons scored their first goal half-way through the second period.
Mark Zylstra had three points in the Omegas' win & goaltender, Pete Lindhout, was steady in his first game since October 4. However, the Player of the Game is Jared Millberry, who had six points. He scored four goals and two assists.

Now - on to the late game.
If anyone's wondering - this is how its done!
The game between the Flyers & IceDogs was awesome! Both teams deserved to win this one, but that's not how it goes. The Flyers were the ones that came out on top with a 3-2 win.
It was an extremely close game thanks mostly to some outstanding goaltending on both ends. Rick Jones & Steve Pastoor (in a fill-in role for the IceDogs) showed everyone the example of a real "goaltenders' duo" in this one. For their efforts, they will share the Player of the Game honours.
Even though the benches were short for both teams, the skaters put in quite an effort as well. If not for the goaltending, there could've been plenty of other guys to choose from for the Player of the Game. Matt DeBoer & Matt Tamminga each had two points for the IceDogs. Derek Bouma had two points for the Flyers, including a late game penalty shot that ended up being the game winning goal.
Even though it was a great game to watch "skill-wise", I'd have to say that my favourite part about this game was that it was penalty free for both teams.
Like I said at the beginning - That's how its done! Way to go guys!

Joe DeBoer, of the IceDogs, has reached the 30 minute mark in penalties. He has been suspended from playing in the game this week (November 29). He will be allowed to play again in the game on December 6.

The early game saw a battle of the two top teams so far this season. The Hawks continue to stay on top of the standings after a 6-2 win over the Flyers.
It was a pretty tight game for the most part. The score was 1-1 after two periods. The Hawks took control in the third - scoring five consecutive goals before the Flyers countered with one more goal late in the game.
Matt VanMarum scored both goals for the Flyers. The Hawks' goals came from six different players. We'll give Hawks' goaltender, Mike Ward, the nod for the Player of the Game in this one.

Don't look now, but the Stars are on a bit of a roll now. They won their second game in a row; this time beating the Omegas 7-3 in the middle game.
The game was fairly even in the first period, but the short bench caught up to the Omegas in the second. The Stars scored three goals in the second period & held a 5-1 lead going into the third. The Stars stretched their lead to 7-1 before the Omegas scored a couple of late goals.
Jeff Sit, of the Stars, scored his first goal in the league. Jason Hotke had three points for the Stars, but the hands down choice for the Player of the Game is Chris Helps. Chris had a six point game for the Stars. He scored a hat-trick and added three assists.

In the late game, the IceDogs came back to beat the Cattle Barons 7-4.
The Cattle Barons were looking good after two periods. All was going well with a 4-1 lead going into the third. However, the third period was all IceDogs.
The IceDogs got the ball rolling early in the third when Phil Nywening scored his first goal in our league. His team kept up the momentum by scoring five more unanswered goals before the game was over. Chad Barneveld scored his first goal in our league in probably almost ten years (see below for some fun facts relating to this). Chad followed that one up to score another goal late in the game, which he dedicated to his proud dad in attendance. Touching, eh?
We'll give the Player of the Game to Al Vanderveen , who scored the important third & fourth goals for the IceDogs to keep the momentum going. He also assisted on the game winning goal.

Fun facts, you say? - Well here you go:

As mentioned above, Chad Barneveld scored his first goal in almost ten years (just so we're clear - Chad has only recently come back to play in our league). Anyways, the last time he scored a goal in our league was on December 19, 2003 while he played for the Crusaders. The goal was assisted by Jason Hughes & was scored against Flyers goaltender, Nathan Wiarda. The Flyers won that game 7-6.
The Crusaders were going with a young rookie goaltender named Josh Tamminga, who was making some noise as the next "up-and-coming" goaltender of the league.
Another rookie, named Matt VanMarum, was playing for the Flyers in this same game. He scored his second & third goals of his career in our league in this game. His third goal in his career was this game's winning goal.

I'm not sure if anyone's still reading, but here's another fun fact from the IceDogs & Flyers game:
When Phil Nywening scored for the IceDogs, he became the first "Nywening" to score in our league since Mark Nywening, of the Stars, scored on March 26, 2004. It was a playoff game that the Omegas won 6-4. In fact, this was the game that the Omegas won the championship when the game was called with 2:08 to go in the third. The referees called the game because of a late game fight between Freddie VanReenen & Greg Wierenga.